The man who was given sight by Jesus has just been kicked out of the Synagogue by the Pharisees because he will not declare Jesus to be a sinful man. The Pharisees are certain that God would never approve of healing a man on the Sabbath day. They refuse to listen to the man’s reasoning because they know that they are right. Jesus now meets the man, and the man believes in Christ and worships Him. The Pharisees watch their interaction.
Jesus came to open and close eyes
Jesus came to execute true and righteous judgment. He will make blind men see, and He will make seeing men blind. Jesus is declaring that there are two groups of people. One group is blind and needs sight. He will restore and save these people from their sins and give them spiritual vision. The other group is self-righteous and believes that they can see perfectly fine without Him. He will condemn them, and they will be blinded by their pride.
Blind men are forgiven, seeing men are not
The Pharisees ask if they are blind. Jesus responds by saying that if they realized that they were unable to see, He would forgive them and cleanse them from their sins. However, because they believe that they are right and need no help, they are still in their sins.
This is exactly what Jesus told the Laodiceans
In Revelation 3, Jesus chastises the Laodicean church because they believe that they can get along fine without Him. They believe that they can see, but Jesus knows that they are blind. He tells them to come to Him for eyesight.
Our greatest enemy is our pride
When we believe that we can see and refuse to listen to the Word of God, we are blind and there is no hope for us. We must realize that we are fallible human beings that make many errors in judgment. Like blind men, we must cry out to Jesus that He would come and show us the truth. This humility is a huge part of our salvation. We must see our need for Christ and cry out to Him for salvation.
Application
Are you blind? Do you need Jesus to show you the way? Will you come to Him for light and direction?
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